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Turkish Press Review, 96-10-10Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY OCTOBER 10, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] PRESIDENT ENDS ITALY VISITPresident Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday ended a three-day visit to Italy, heaping praise on its support for Turkey's efforts to join the European Union (EU). But he rapped the EU for its approach to Turkey at a late night press conference following his talks with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. "In our talks, I have told Prodi of the Turkish public's increasing discontent over the recent decision of the European Parliament -calling for the suspension of EU assistance to Turkey- and the fact that several Central European countries have been put before Turkey as the EU expanded- although Turkey has been an 'associate member' for the past 33 years."Among the new candidates for membership, the country closest to the values which Europe embodies is Turkey" Demirel told the press conference. "Turkey has been a defence bastion (for Europe) in the past; today it's a bridge (to the Muslim world)" he added. Addressing the same conference, Prodi reaffirmed his centre-left government's commitment to support Turkey's EU bid. "Italy is also ready to do its part so that Turkey's membership does not remain as a mere wish, but becomes a reality" he added. Demirel said: "If you justify terrorism, terror will turn the world into bloodshed. It is evident that Turkey will have to spend more time to explain its struggle against terrorism for the protection of its territorial integrity". /All papers/ [02] TURKEY TERMS U.S. STANCE ON ERBAKAN'S LIBYA VISIT 'UNACCEPTABLE'Turkey yesterday declared that remarks made by Washington, critical of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's visit to Libya were "unacceptable". Addressing a press briefing in Ankara, Deputy Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sermet Atacanli told reporters that Turkey placed great importance on its friendship with the US. But, he said, Ankara reserved the right to determine its own foreign policy.Atacanli was responding to US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns who had indicated that his country had "a lot of advice" to give Erbakan in private concerning loyalty to allies. Burns' comments came in the wake of Erbakan's meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a trip which Burns said Washington found "most disturbing". Atacanli also denied claims that the recall of the Turkish Ambassador to Libya, Ates Balkan, had been done without Prime Minister Erbakan's knowledge. Ambassador Balkan arrived in Turkey yesterday evening. /Hurriyet-Sabah/ [03] TURKEY AN IMPORTANT EU PARTNERIn the latest European Union (EU) report on Turkey it says that Turkey has taken its place among the "most important partners of the EU."The EU report notes the vital position that Turkey holds in the region, and stresses that Turkey is an important political and economic partner. The report adds that the EU is concerned that lines of communication with Turkey should be kept open. /Cumhuriyet/ [04] DAYTON DEAL FOR CYPRUSBritain's special representative for Cyprus, Sir David Hannay, in efforts to check the pulse of feeling on the island, yesterday had talks with General Cevik Bir about the prospects for a Dayton-type Cyprus summit.During talks lasting about two and a half hours, Hannay had talks with top Turkish Foreign Ministry officials in Ankara, including deputy Undersecretary Inal Batu. Hannay wants to set up a Dayton-style summit as soon as possible. He told Turkish officials that already "a lot of time had been lost." /Cumhuriyet/ [05] IRANIAN OFFICERS TRAINING TERRORISTSAlthough Iran continues to deny that it helps or supports the PKK terrorist organization, there are more reports that apart from logistical support, Iran is also providing education and training for PKK members.Reports from Kurdish groups in northern Iraq claim that Iranian officers are involved in training PKK terrorists in a camp near Harkurk. Spokesman for the Kurdish KDP party, Safeen Dizaye, said that Iranian officers trained PKK terrorists to carry out operations in Turkey. /Sabah/ [06] ANKARA SLAMS GREECE-GREEK CYPRIOT WAR GAMESThe Turkish government yesterday strongly attacked the Greece-Greek Cypriot joint military exercise currently being held in the eastern Mediterranean, calling it very provocative and saying that if these exercises continue, Turkey will take counter measures.A Greek top official in Ankara, Vlassopoulos was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday and a verbal protest was handed to him regarding the exercise in the Aegean. Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Sermet Atacanli, at a press conference yesterday, said that the joint military exercise, Nikiforos-Toxatis 96, was very provocative and that Turkey considers it as a move which could threaten the stability and peace of the region. "This kind of move is not helpful for finding solutions. We are waiting for the end of this (kind of thing). We also noticed that this exercise started after the establishment of the new government in Greece. If this provocative attitude continues, counter measures will come onto the agenda" Atacanli said. /Sabah/ [07] DEMIREL APPEALS TO GREECE FOR DIALOGUEPresident Suleyman Demirel urged Greece to enter into comprehensive dialogue with Turkey to settle the outstanding disputes between the two NATO allies. Turkey's Anatolia News Agency reported from Athens that in an interview with the Athens News Agency during his visit to Rome, Demirel said Turkey was prepared for comprehensive talks with Greece. Responding to a question about whether Turkey was considering applying to The Hague International Court of Justice, because the attempts to establish a dialogue between Ankara and Athens had all failedi. The president said Turkey, Greece and Italy were three Mediterranean countries which were well aware of their responsibilities."Turkey wishes to hold talks and find solutions to the problems through dialogue. We insist on the need of finding solutions through dialogue. I have expressed this view during my talks with Prime Minister Romano Prodi" Demirel said. [08] GREECE, TURKEY COOPERATE TO RESCUE DOWNED JET PILOTTurkish and Greek search and rescue (SAR) teams are cooperating closely in a joint effort to save Capt.Nail Erdogan, one of the pilots of a Turkish F-16 jet fighter that crashed into the sea on Tuesday after being intercepted by Greek warplanes near the eastern Aegean island of Sakiz (Chios).The Turkish Foreign Ministry thanked Athens for Greece's help in the rescue of a Turkish pilot and subsequent operations to find the other missing Turkish pilot, the Athens news agency quoted Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas as saying. Reppas said that Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Inal Batu telephoned Dimitri Nezeritis, Greek Ambassador to Ankara, to thank Greece for its help during the rescue operations. Batu also asked the ambassador to hand over the rescued Turkish pilot and urged that the search for the second pilot be accelerated. Reppas said that the Greek forces were working very hard to find the missing pilot. It is also reported that Greek Chief of General Staff Gen.Athanasios Coganis sent his Turkish counterpart Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi a message regarding the incident saying that he would be very pleased to meet with Karadayi to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Meanwhile, the rescued Turkish pilot, Lt.Col.Osman Cicekli, was brought to Turkey's western coast city of Izmir aboard a Greek helicopter on Wednesday after noon. Cicekli is reported to be in good condition. The US State Department praised the cooperative effort in the Aegean, saying that this incident showed that Turks and Greeks can work together. US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns said that the rescue of the Turkish pilot by the Greek team was a positive development. /Hurriyet/ [09] TURKEY AND ITALY SIGN COOPERATION DEAL ON KOBITurkey and Italy have signed a cooperation agreement on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (KOBI). The agreement was signed by Mahmut East Yalcin, the head of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Centre (KOSGEB), and Agostino Paci, the head of the Public Organizations Development Centre (SPI). The deal aims to promote the exchange of know-how and technology, and encourage cooperation on problems such as finance, marketing and management. The cooperation agreement is expected to have international dimensions since both KOSGEB and SPI are members of the EU sponsored programme. /All papers/[10] JCR MISSION ARRIVES IN TURKEYA Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) delegation has arrived in Ankara to evaluate recent developments in the Turkish economy. The JCR mission will visit the Treasury and the Central Bank and will inspect macro-economic indicators such as domestic-foreign debt and budget figures. The mission will leave Turkey on October 11 and will provide Japanese investors with a detailed report. JCR assigned a BB+ rating to Turkey in 1994 which was not changed in 1995.The Turkish-Japanese 10th term business council meeting will be held in Tokyo on October 24-25 during which trade relations between the two countries will be discussed. /Sabah/ [11] AUTO INDUSTRY EXPORTS RISETurkey's automotive industry exports climbed by 25.3 % in the January-September period compared to the corresponding nine months of 1995, industry sources revealed. The Association of the Turkish Automotive Industry (OSD) said that overall exports in the first half jumped from last year's $888.5 million to $1.112 billion this year. /All papers/[12] YASED REVEALS TOP 175 FOREIGN FIRMS IN TURKEYTurkey's Foreign Capital Coordination Association (YASED) revealed that there were 175 foreign firms in Turkey with registered capital of over TL 100 billion. It said that the total capital of the 175 foreign firms amounted to TL 84 trillion and comprised 72 % of total foreign investments in Turkey. The overall number of foreign firms in Turkey at the end of last year was 3,171, with a total capital of TL 116.8 trillion. More than half of the total capital of the 175 firms was in six sectors, with 20 % in the automotive sector alone, excluding side sectors. The automotive sector is followed by banking with 10.4 %, trade with 8.6 %, food with 5.4 % and the plastic and iron-steel sectors with 5.3 % each. /All papers/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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